Great River

The Great River 32EQ is a reissue of the equalizer found in the Harrison 32 Series consoles, and as far as I know, both parties had a hand in designing this new model. The 32EQ is made up of analog components, boasting four bands and both a high and low pass filter. It isn't rack mountable in a traditional space, but rather will fit into a 500 series lunch box style rack. UTILIZATION There isn't really anything that you need to know about the Great River 32EQ that is out of the ordinary. Each of the four bands has knobs for gain and frequency selection. The only weird thing about the 32EQ that threw me off for a second was the way they numbered the frequencies, but users will soon see how it works as it isn't complicated at all. The high and low pass filters have a button to turn them on a knobs to choose the frequency at which you would like signals to pass. I haven't seen the manual for the 32EQ, but I think it is easy enough to use on its own where you don't need one. SOUND QUALITY I have not used the original Harrison 32 Series consoles, so I cannot compare the Great River 32EQ to its original, but will say that regardless of what it is modeled after, the 32EQ is a great sounding equalizer. It is up there with the cleanest sounding that I've heard, which is always what I'm looking for in an EQ. Some engineers like when an EQ adds something to your sound, but I only want my EQ to do exactly what I tell it, and that is what you get with the 32EQ. I used the 32EQ on a whole slew of different applications within the same mix, and the mix came out shining bright as can be. Of course like all signal processing, it will only be as useful as you make it... OVERALL OPINION For such a reasonably priced piece of gear, the Great River 32EQ sure gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Today more than ever I think the way to go for equalization is to pick and choose the modules you like and put them in something like the 500 series rack, and the 32EQ would be a great choice for any studio owner to have. They are cheap enough where you could have a few of them without spending much money at all. While the price may still be a bit much for home studio owners, smaller studio owners need to keep in mind that you're going to have to pay to get great gear, but everyone once in a while you get a piece of gear like the 32EQ that combines top notch tone with a reasonable price...

The Great River MP-2NV is a dual channel microphone preamplifier that is simply a two channel version of the Great River ME-1NV as it has the same configuration. This is an analog unit that has XLR connections in the back and has 1/4 inch inputs in the front for plugging directly into this. This is indeed a rack mountable piece of outboard gear and will only take up a single rack space. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Great River MP-2NV is easy to follow as there isn't anything unusual to be seen here. Each of the channels simply have knobs for gain and output level and buttons for polarity, phantom power, impedance and loading. Each also has a meter for both the input and the output levels. I can't say that this is hard to manipulate at all and I think that most people won't have any problems operating this pre amp. I can't say anything about the manual as I have never needed to look at one. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the Great River MP-2NV is exactly what you would expect - it is outstanding. It has a great deal of warmth and clarity and it definitely portrays an accurate picture of the signal that you sending to it, whether that is with a microphone or direct. I would say that the MP-2NV is pretty much suitable for use with any application in terms of instruments as I have had success using it with just about all of the applications that I have used it with. The bottom line is that it is just a good mic pre and this will translate to whatever you use it with. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Great River MP-2NV for about a year or so and I've always been extremely pleased with the sound that this has. It has a very authentic sound and is a great pre to have around even if you have a console as it will give you another option to go to. Of course with great quality comes a price and for this reason this isn't a cheap set of pres. I believe however, that this is a good deal even if it is out of the price range for most home studio owners. Overall, the Great River MP-2NV is a special pre and is a great all around choice in terms of stereo mic pres.

The Great River EQ-1NV is a single channel, four band equalizer with an addition high pass filter. The EQ is made up of all analog parts, and has 1/4" TRS connections. It isn't a rack mountable piece of gear as it has its own shape and size that will sit on any sort of desk or table top. UTILIZATION If you are familiar with the way parametric EQs are set up and how they are used, the Great River EQ-1NV won't present any problems for you. Each of the four bands of EQ have the standard parameters of gain and frequency, and each also has a button to choose between a few different bandwidth settings. In addition, there is a knob to choose the high pass frequency, as well as a bypass button for it. There is also an overall bypass button and an input level knob. I've never seen the manual for this, so I can't say too much about its make up. SOUND QUALITY Like pretty much all of the gear that I've used from Great River, the EQ-1NV is a top tier sounding equalizer. It has a very full inherent tone, and does exactly what it is told in terms of sculpting your sound. I've used it for EQing vocals, snare drum, and acoustic guitar, but it's capabilities definitely range far beyond this as I do believe that it would be suitable in any situation where you might want some EQ. I find that the four bands are more than enough to work with... OVERALL OPINION I first used the Great River EQ-1NV about six or eight months ago, and I'm eagerly awaiting another chance to use this as it sounds absolutely awesome. Though pretty expensive, those who are seriously interested in something like this probably already understand that this is around the price that you're going to pay for top end quality. If you're a studio owner of any type looking to add some serious tone for equalization, look no further than the EQ-1NV.

The Great River MP-500NV is analog solid state pre amplifier and direct input box. The unit is very basic and simple to follow as it has the bare minimum. It has XLR connections in the back of it and a Hi-Z 1/4 inch input for plugging your instrument directly in. It isn't in a traditional rack mountable form and I believe Great River has a module that this will fit into. UTILIZATION Using the Great River MP-500NV is quite simple and won't present any problems for those who have experience with mic pres. It simply has two knobs - one for gain and one for output cal in addition to buttons for polarity, phantom power, impedance, and loading. Beyond this there isn't anything that you need to know about the MP-500NV in terms of configuration, so I don't think that a manual is really necessary. SOUND QUALITY The tone of the Great River MP-500NV is overall really great. I love recording everything from vocals to drums through this as it has a fat tone that is perfect for getting a clean yet full bodied sound. It is also a great sounding direct input box in general as it is just about as good as a DI box as any I have used. While this isn't the most versatile mic pre in terms of parameters and knobs to play with, I find that the simplistic nature of the pre helps me to get a quick sound without having to worry about too many controls. OVERALL OPINION In my opinion, Great River is one of the best in the business when it comes to mic pres and the Great River MP-500NV falls right in line with their best gear. Obviously this doesn't offer up the same features as some of their higher end outboard gear, if you are on a budget and looking for a great mic pre/DI box, there is no way that you can go wrong with the MP-500NV as it simply has a great tone quality. While this might be too expensive for most home studio owners, it is still very reasonably priced for such a good sounding mic pre and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking in this market.

The Great River ME-1NV is an analog, single channel microphone preamp. It has XLR connections in the back as well as a 1/4 inch input in the front if you want to use this as a direct input box. This is a solid state based pre amp and isn't a standard rack mountable piece of outboard gear. UTILIZATION Using the Great River ME-1NV isn't too hard at all as it is pretty basic in make up. It has basic pre amp parameters including knobs for gain and output level and buttons for impedance, polarity, phantom power, and loading. Beyond this there isn't anything out of the ordinary to be found on the Great River ME-1NV which is a good thing because it makes it easy to use and makes it possible for anyone to get accustomed to it quickly. I haven't seen the manual for the Great River ME-1NV so I don't know if it would be helpful or not, but I would say that one isn't necessary anyway as it is easy enough to figure out on its own. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the Great River ME-1NV is pretty incredible overall. It won't color you sound whether you are using it for a microphone or as a direct input box and definitely provides a detailed and accurate representation of the signal that your microphone is picking up. I would use this pre amp for just about any sort of use as I have tried it with vocals, snare drum, kick drum, electric guitar, and bass guitar. It is a versatile pre amp because it is well built and will be useful in just about any situation... OVERALL OPINION Overall, the Great River ME-1NV is a great microphone preamp. I have come to love the gear that Great River produces because they are made with care and with only the best of parts. While this isn't the cheapest pre out there, if you want quality you are going to have to pay, and keeping this in mind this is definitely a reasonably priced pre amp. If you are in the market for a great single channel mic pre, the Great River ME-1NV is a great piece of gear to look into.